Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has detailed the decisive intervention by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) that successfully ended the long-standing ₦300 billion USSD debt crisis.
Speaking during a high-profile visit to the Chairman of the NCC Board of Commissioners, Dr. Idris Olorunnimbe, Adebayo credited the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, with steering the telecommunications sector through one of its most delicate financial periods.
Upon assuming office, Dr. Maida inherited a debt burden that had accumulated over four years, reaching nearly ₦300 billion. The lingering dispute between telecommunications operators and banks over Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) fees had become a systemic risk to both the telecom industry and the broader digital financial ecosystem.
Through firm leadership and structured engagement, Dr. Maida’s team successfully transitioned the industry to an end-user billing model, effectively clearing the backlog.
“Today, there is no outstanding USSD debt. What was once a looming crisis has been converted into a sustainable framework. Without that intervention, this would have been a major challenge awaiting the board upon assumption of office,” Adebayo said.
The ALTON Chairman also highlighted the critical importance of recent tariff reforms. He noted that for thirteen years, the industry had maintained static pricing despite soaring inflation, currency volatility and rising energy costs.
Adebayo revealed that before the government’s intervention, the sector was approaching a stage where service rationing was becoming a real possibility as tariffs fell significantly below operating costs.